It was 1998. A room full of at-risk freshmen at East High School. Most were students of color. All had been identified by the school administration as likely to drop out.

A quote was written on a sheet of flip chart paper:

“We become adapted to the lack of use of our basic human resources and they respond by becoming unfamiliar to us.”

When asked what they thought it meant, a young man at the back of the room — more pain behind his eyes than any kid should carry — looked up and answered without hesitation:

“Use it or lose it.”

That moment started a 20-year conversation with thousands of young people and adults across 18 countries on four continents. The question at the center of it: what are the basic human resources we all come into the world with — and what happens when we stop using them?

The answer became The Elementals. Sixteen qualities common to every human being. Not character traits to aspire to. Not skills to teach. The deeper source actions that, when practiced, naturally generate the empathy, curiosity, self-awareness, and connection that educators and coaches spend careers trying to develop.

When people identify which Elementals have become unfamiliar to them — and choose to practice them again — something unexpected happens. Not just growth. Recognition. Oh. That’s what’s been missing.

That’s the idea. Simple to use. Profound in practice.

Don’t do to… do with.